Prioritisation of everything, everywhere, all the time

We prioritise every time we make a choice of any kind. We prioritise: Every one of the thousands of decisions we make every day reflects a (priority) choice between available options. Conscious and unconscious choices Prioritisation may be unconscious, in that we have previously attached importance or value to an activity and it has become… Continue reading Prioritisation of everything, everywhere, all the time

Creating Value using an integrated (multi-capital) approach

Value creation is a key function of every board and adding value is central to the roles of both directors and senior managers, but what do we mean when we refer to value in this way? The Capitals Coalition is a global collaboration that seeks to redefine value in order to transform decision-making. They recognise… Continue reading Creating Value using an integrated (multi-capital) approach

Measuring your social value (impact)

Traditional notions of value in the context of organisational governance have tended to focus on economic definitions and metrics. Value for money, profitability, cash flow, price/performance, and ‘value adding’ through risk reduction, automation, demand aggregation, logistic efficiency, etc. are just some of the forms of economic value used by managers and directors to assess the… Continue reading Measuring your social value (impact)

The Scales of Governance: Weighing options, arguments, evidence & consequences

Evaluation – Part 1 We use the term ‘on balance’ as a shorthand way of saying that we have come to a decision or choice after considering the power, influence, or ‘weight’ of both sides of a question or issue. This invokes metaphoric reference to a set of balance scales – as in the ‘scales of justice’ (see header image). Evaluation skills, sometimes… Continue reading The Scales of Governance: Weighing options, arguments, evidence & consequences

Agile or Adaptive Governance required?

As non-profit organisations have increasingly moved to use adaptive strategy to address the rapidly changing and complex environment in which they serve their purposes, the question of how these strategic style shifts fit in the governance model arises. A ‘system of controls’ Much governance literature has promoted the view that governance is about establishing and… Continue reading Agile or Adaptive Governance required?

The Incident ‘Post Mortem’: Facts, Causes and Factors

Most non-profit boards rightly focus their risk governance on identifying and assessing risks before developing a set of escalating controls to prevent an adverse event. They then consider how their organisation should respond should the hazardous event actually occur, and how those measures can best mitigate the damage that arises. Some also consider their incident… Continue reading The Incident ‘Post Mortem’: Facts, Causes and Factors

Blockers or Enablers? The 3 lines of defence

Just as strategic mindsets can be framed in polarised pairs like Growth Vs Fixed, or Solution Vs Problem Oriented, risk management mindsets can also be described as Blocking or Enabling (see header illustration). While reducing any complex matter to a simple binary choice can lead to distorted thinking, when considering your risk mindset it is… Continue reading Blockers or Enablers? The 3 lines of defence

Giving ‘diligence’ its due

(Part 2 – ‘Duty of Care, Skill and Diligence’ series) The term ‘due diligence’ is most often used to describe a detailed appraisal of a business undertaken by a prospective buyer, with a key focus on confirming its assets and liabilities and evaluating its commercial prospects. In the context of non-profit directorial duties however, its… Continue reading Giving ‘diligence’ its due

Driving value or being driven by fear

A response to ‘apocalyptic’ change narratives Some people love horror movies. They enjoy the adrenaline pumping through them as they imagine themselves the victims of some malign character or force, all the while knowing that it is a fantasy – a waking dream from which they will wake when the movie ends. There is an… Continue reading Driving value or being driven by fear

Governance ‘lines of sight’

To avoid oversights, directors need to ensure effective oversight. How ironic is it that a key governance term can have opposite meanings depending on the context in which it is used? ‘Oversight‘ is one of the roles of board directors, meaning they oversee (monitor) the implementation of the strategy they developed, along with the organisation’s… Continue reading Governance ‘lines of sight’